Maelys II Blackfyre
Maelys Blackfyre, formerly known as Maelys the Bastard and popularly titled Maelys the Younger, is the bastard son of Maelys the Monstrous and a prostitute from Lys called Rhaella. Maelys acts as the Marcher Lord of the Stepstones, ruling over them from his seat on the isle of Bloodstone, Caraxes' Landing. Biography Background Maelys was born sometime towards the end of the year 259 AL on the isle of Bloodstone. His father, Maelys Blackfyre, was a claimant to the Iron Throne and sparked the War of Ninepenny Kings, during which he ultimately was killed by Ser Barristan Selmy. His mother was a Volantene prostitute stolen from one of the many pleasure houses of Lys by Maelys himself, for his own personal abuse. House Blackfyre was deemed to be extinct in the male line after the death of his father, considering Maelys the Younger was born out of wedlock and therefore a bastard. However, in the year 262 AL King Jaeherys II, wanting to finally end the Blackfyre threat (and also, privately, not wanting a house of the blood of Old Valyria to go extinct), decided to legitimize Maelys, as long as he denounces his houses' claim to the throne and swears allegiance to the crown, an oath that later on in life he fulfilled, swearing fealty to King Aerys II in 268 AL. Maelys grew up in King's Landing, at the court of king Aerys II alongside his childhood friend Rhaegar Targaryen, with whom he got along well, but with whom he also developed a sort of friendly rivalry. At the age of sixteen, Maelys was knighted by the King after years of training and serving as a squire to Aerys alongside Rhaegar. He took part in the Defiance of Duskendale, where he led an auxiliary unit during the siege of the castle. He then was witness to the King's cruel judgement handed upon the rebellious lord and his family, which made him question his allegiance. He wed Lady Alysanne Celtigar, the younger sister of Lord Ardrian Celtigar of Claw Isle in the year 278 AL, with whom nearly a year later he had his first child, Aegor. Soon after, Alysanne was with child once more, this time giving birth to twins, Daemon and Naerys. A couple years later another child joined the family, named Rhaenys. War for the Stepstones and Robert's Rebellion In the year 282 AL, Maelys was commanded by King Aerys II to take a unit of soldiers and conquer the Stepstones in the name of the Crown, due to the king becoming more and more paranoid over the isles' being no man's land between his realm and the Free Cities, towards which the King had major distrust. After nearly a year and a half of long and tedious combat against both pirate guerrilla forces and the harsh storms for which the region was reknown, the islands of Sunstone and Bloodstone were conquered and de iure became part of the realm. This victory was rather short-lived and overlooked, considering that in the meantime, the near 300 year rule of the Targaryens over the continent was cut short by the rebel forces of Robert Baratheon, who was soon crowned king and demanded Maelys to bend the knee. Wanting to maintain his control over the region which he single-handedly conquered, lord Blackfyre swore fealty to the new king and was named the Marcher Lord of the Stepstones. In the next few years he also managed to extend his rule to the neighbouring islands of Blackisle, located directly east from Bloodstone, and Grey Gallows, which was located just south of the island, naming Ser Aurion the Red and Ser Corrad Storm, two knights in his service, the lords of the isles, respectively. Years of Peace For the many years between Robert's Rebellion and his untimely death, Maelys slowly begun the process of making Bloodstone a central port for commerce between the southern Free Cities and the Seven Kingdoms. The small, near uninhabited village surrounding the ancient Bloodstone Keep swiftly turned into a bustling port city, which Maelys aptly named Caraxes' Landing, after the dragon ridden by Daemon Targaryen, who himself built the keep. The Blackfyre fleet grew to become one of the bigger fleets possessed by the Seven Kingdoms, though only near half the size of the Royal Fleet, it was far better equipped and seasoned in combat, due to the constant pirate threat from the remaining no-man's-islands. Appearance Maelys was a very tall, built and visibly strong man, and, as Ser Barristan Selmy accounts, "on par in both height and intimidating display as his father." He possessed the Valyrian traits of silver-blond hair, which he kept on the shorter side, and violet eyes, though many described his facial features as "strongly Andal". It was extremely rare to see him out of his black plate armour, for being the Marcher Lord of the Stepstones, he was to be ready for combat at any given moment. His armour, highly intricate and later passed onto his son Daemon, was forged as a gift for him on the orders of the Archon of Tyrosh, for helping in bringing peace to the tumultuous area Maelys fought in, and then ruled over. After Robert Baratheon's death, upon being summoned to King's Landing, Maelys has developed a beard, akin to the one his father bore, albeit a bit shorter, and longer hair, further reminding Ser Barristan of the war and his first demanding opponent. Personality A rather stern and astute man, Maelys the Younger was nothing like his father was in terms of personality, though he was fairly quick to anger at times. He was a temperate, humble, loyal and honourable man who grew up in the court of the Red Keep, learning of all the intrigues politics bring and holding a strong grasp on them. He was shrewd and a quick learner. His near stubborn loyalty and temperance is what allowed him to get a hold of a few of the isles of the Stepstones in the name of the Iron Throne, for which he was rewarded greatly, and keep his House on good terms with their former age-old opponents, the Targaryens. Maelys liked to read, possessing a vast library of books in his keep, which he collected over the years, many of which later on worked their purpose in shaping and educating his children. Though not exactly the most charismatic man, many deemed him a fierce warrior and skilled tactician as well as a good administrator, businessman and steward. Over the span of just a decade he turned a formerly exiled and extinct house with no lands or bannermen into a major player with a strong powerbase, multiple vassals and many allies, amongst them most importantly the Baratheons and the Martells. Trivia *Not being able to bear look at them as they reminded him of the family he took the throne from, King Robert Baratheon hid all of the Targaryen dragon skulls into a cellar in the Red Keep, sending the skull of Caraxes away as a gift for Maelys after he asked for it. The dragon skull now decorates the main hall of the Bloodstone Keep. *Soon after Robert's Rebellion ended, Maelys went out of his way to get a hold of one of the rubies that adorned Rhaegar's armour, which he had turned into a necklace, reminding him of his former friend and rival. Category:Fanon Characters Category:House Blackfyre Category:Fargothen